Monday, January 13, 2014

Passengers Rescued From Antarctica

A red-and-white Chinese
helicopter on Thursday, January the 2nd, rescued 52 passengers
trapped a little over a week aboard an icebound Russian research ship in
Antarctica. The Chinese helicopter was transporting them a dozen at a time to
an Australian icebreaker. The helicopter, based, Snow Dragon, flew across miles
of packed ice to pluck scientists, tourists and journalists from a landing zone
next to the stranded vessel, the Akademik Shokalskiy. The blue-hulled Russian
ship was surrounded by such a thick and extensive pack ice that it could not
move, and even vessels designed specifically to break through ice could not get
near.The rescue was closely followed
around the world by scientists as well as many others, with journalists on
board sending progress reports as the passengers were lifted to safety aboard
the Australian icebreaker, the Aurora Australis. For more information, click Here.